US and them.
Not been having much opportunity to blog recently, having neglected to pay the tuition fees for my university course, the bloody swines have cut off my access to the computer systems. All those hours spent arguing with other bloggers with silly screen names, like
Scott Burgess (only joking) done away with.
I've still managed to read through a blog or two here and there though, and one thing is bugging me. Despite all the supposed dynamism of the blogging community, citizen journalists, or whatever you want to call us, a lot of us seem depressingly satisfied with swallowing whole whatever the government and right wing press throw at us. When it comes to Polly Toynbee slating the latest garbage to be churned out of Hollywood because of its religious overtones, bloggers are in uproar. When (insert name of Guardian journalist here) writes an opinion piece on (insert relevant issue here), all across the internet, angry writers bustle their way through the pack with talons at the ready to take a swipe. Not content with our own savagery, we scour the web looking for other examples of the same opportunism, hit the 'comment' icon and indulge in some good old back slapping.
Well, thanks, Toynbee, at least your opinion piece gave me something to write about, even if it was shit. An opinion piece on an opinion piece.
But what worries
me more at the moment is the increasingly fortified "us and them" mentality fostered by the mainstream press, and bought into by the bloggers.
Yep, you guessed it, I'm talking about the Muslims again. Or the Middle East in general, really. You know, that group of about a billion human individuals whose only representation in the Western media seems to consist of angry young men burning flags or waving guns. Whenever I go on about the demonisation of Muslims I get the same response: it's the extremists who give them a bad name, not the Western media. That just doesn't wash. I don't understand how anybody could see it in such a clear-cut, one dimensional way.
Of course the extremists and their jingo-hungry recruits are providing negative images of Islam. But if the press didn't do such a good job of sexing the whole thing up into a "clash of civilisations" the negative impact of the extremist minority would be reduced rather than blown out of all proportion.
Maybe some of us have forgotten the most basic fact, that we are all essentially the same. Like it or not, regardless of religion or race, people have the same needs and desires the world over.
Does nobody but me find it strangely convenient the way Muslims have become such a threatening, dangerous bunch since Bush realised he needed to erase all non-US backed governing bodies in the Middle East?
Funny how, when popular support for the Iraq war (and consequentially the forthcoming invasion of Iran) was dwindling, Bush revealed how Al Qaida were actually planning to steer a plane into the tallest building in LA simultaneously with the attacks in New York. Can't think why he chose to suddenly reveal all this though...
Again, I'm not saying there are no dangerous Muslims out there. But when the American led West is in such agressive pursuit of absolute financial and military dominance of the Muslim world, it's not really surprising. Countries like Egypt are little more than financial colonies of the US. What is really worrying is it is this aggressive policy which is feeding young disillusioned Muslims into the extremist organisations which do pose a tangible danger to society.
Disclaimer: In no way does this post signal an end to the shameless opportunism of "Fisking" which has, on occasion, been witnessed in this blog.
Smarter than your average tramp.
It always strikes me as odd when I see homeless people sitting beside cash machines. I mean, you can see the logic, sure, but do they not notice their upside-down hats always seem depressingly empty? If the whole idea is to attack the unsuspecting passerby's conscience, and beat the guilt out of them until they capitulate (which it is), then why provide such an easy escape route, I wonder. Any idiot can think quick enough to blurt out "sorry - no change" whilst snatching a wad of notes from the machine and rushing off.
It's not that it
should be this hard for a person in need to acquire 20p from a person with a wallet full of £20 notes. But the world is full of people who need help, choc-a-bloc with them. Why should I give you any money, the busy bank manager wonders, when you'll only go and spend it on drugs and besides, there are people starving in Africa with much less than you.
(Must get round to donating a few quid to Comic Relief one of these years.)
Anyhow, rightly or wrongly, the contemporary tramp has to work hard in order to get a few quid in today's world congested with worthy causes. So with that in mind, I'd like to suggest an alternative approach to the 'hole-in-the-wall-hawk' method. Rather than heading for the nearest Natwest, why not hunt down the closest water fountain? It would take a thick-skinned soul indeed to stand there chucking loose change into the displays in Trafalgar Square while a shivering beggar looks up at him with pleading eyes.
Incidentally, I have often heard cries for help on behalf of the homeless come from somewhat surprising quarters. See if you can guess what angle they're coming from:
"What I wanna know is why we've gotta help all these foreigners when we've got our own to look out for. There's people in England who need the money and the food, not all these bloody Africans."
Are the sentiments of concern for the homeless genuine? Of course.
Liverpool and Tottenham.
Sticking with all things football, after Liverpool lost to Charlton last night and now have just one game in hand over us, they should be looking over their shoulders at Spurs. Just one point behind and with the Reds struggling to score goals, Spurs could be looking to capitalize and further consolidate their Champions League position.
All donations welcome.
The future looks bleak for Rotherham football club.
Their imminent demise is apparently just weeks away.
In desperation, the club have appealed to the local community to come to their rescue. With a population of around 250,000, Rotherham's residents might be able to save the club from going under if they are prepared to dig into their pockets.
Still, the club only manages to attract 4,000 fans on matchdays, so the success of this appeal may be limited somewhat.
Out of sympathy for the club and as a show of solidarity, I thought I'd chip in and do my bit to help. If you're interested in making a donation to this noble cause, send me an email and I'll be happy to reply with the details of a bank account from which I will ensure all donated funds find their way to the club.
A suggested amount of £20 is provided as a guideline only, to serve as an indication of what might be appropriate. Please feel free to to give more where possible.
Globalization with a twist.
When we think of globalization, we tend to think of it more as the spread of American influence throughout the world than as a genuine interspersing of the nations via commerce and culture.
From the dominance of Hollywood in cinema to the big industry slogans penetrating every aspect of our lives, "globalization" often seems little more than the expansion of the American Empire.
So, as fundamentally opposed to globalizing forces and in particular the World Economic Forum though I am, Tesco's announcement they are opening stores on America's west coast is almost like the sugar with the cyanide pill.
If the world is to degenerate into a huge network of identical, characterless high streets and shopping centres, it is nice to know the Americans will be subjected to some foreign influence as well. Even if it does look exactly the same as all the other shops in the area.
Hamza and the media.
The media have come under fire from many quarters over the representation of Abu Hamza and his message of hate, and I agree such extensive coverage of Hamza has led to further problems. A nation of Sun readers believing a one-eyed, psychotic Captain Hook can be seen as representative of all Muslims is a worrying concept.
However, Hamza was inevitably going to attract attention to himself. An Imam in one of the country's most prominent mosques, it is hard to understand why his presence was tolerated.
Not by the British government, but by the Muslim community.
You would think the clerical community would have rapidly identified him as a dangerous extremist and subsequently sought to silence him. Even if it was felt by moderates he had a right to voice his message, however disagreeable, (which is disturbing) it was naive to the point of stupidity to grant the man a pedestal and therefore push him into the public eye.
To attack the media for its sensationalist hunger is like getting mad at a dog for eating a steak you left in its bowl.
I'm not saying the media are blameless, only that you incur some of the blame yourself if you did not prepare for the obvious consequences and do your best to avert them.
When a minority of sexually starved, tortured priests turned to minors in search of relief, the Catholic church was suddenly imagined to be teeming with perverts preying on choirboys. This is untrue, of course, but subsequent investigations into the church have revealed the paedophile element to be real, and identified the causes making a minority of otherwise normal men so desperate and tormented they are prepared to do the unthinkable.
Similar investigations need to be carried out into the radical elements of Muslim society today, in order that the preachers of hate, on the fringes or otherwise, be exposed and shut down. But this will never be achieved while the Muslim majority either turn a blind eye to, or even tacitly condone aspects of the teachings of someone like Hamza.
The sad fact is, there seems to be a shortage of senior Muslim figures willing to condemn Abu Hamza.
Islamic Intolerance.
A guest writer over on
Samizdata questions the intolerance of the Islamic world today and expresses surprise that some are not prepared to
agree to disagree over the Danish cartoon incident.
All common sense (or what we in the west consider common sense) aside, it isn't really that surprising the Islamic world has expressed such rage.
I would love to know what the majority of ordinary Muslims think about it all in countries across the world, to see if there are differences between Muslims in different nations.
Looking after the pennies.
On the issue of money, or the lack of it, I found myself in the embarrasing situation of being a penny short in a shop today. Well, I wouldn't usually find it embarrasing, but the girl behind the counter wouldn't let me off. I asked her, in disbelief, if she was serious. "It's me that'll have to settle it later" she responded.
I should have told her what a mean spirited little bitch she was, and that I'd never come across a shop keeper that would have given a shit for a penny before (not that I make a habit of being a penny short, you understand).
But instead I just mumbled that she was being harsh, and made a rapid exit.
I need to conquer the emotion of shame.
Morlock Spurgan.
Watched
Morgan Spurlock's "Thirty Days" programme last night, the one in which he sets out to survive on minimum wage for a month.It's a good documentary, and for the most part I appreciate what Spurlock (who, after a few drinks, I was calling Morlock Spurgan) is doing. Highlighting the issue of domestic poverty in the richest nation on Earth, and making a tidy little sum along the way? Nice one.
But there's where my contentious inner demon started growling. This guy could not believe the everyday complications a lack of money conjurs, because of course he's actually very well off, just pretending to be poor.
I know, that's the point. A real poor person doesn't notice it any more, it takes somebody exposing the faults of an aspect of society from the outside in to make people sit up and take notice.
Nonetheless, it was irritating to watch his disbelief that a day that was meant to be about having fun and celebrating disintegrated into argument and misery over the little matter of thirty dollars. To me, that's just standard living, a day like that can disintegrate over thirty pence!
